


The Quiet Man

by jael33



Series: Speechless [2]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: American Sign Language, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mute Daryl Dixon, Muteness, Past Child Abuse, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-06 14:33:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12819615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jael33/pseuds/jael33
Summary: Rick and Daryl meet again after twenty years.





	1. Those Damn Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the 1952 movie The Quiet Man with John Wayne. One of my favorite movies ever.
> 
> Again, this isn't beta'd and all mistakes are mine. If you think I should add some tags please let me know. I've never written a sex scene before so please don't destroy me in the comments. :) Speaking of comments, any advice you can give me would be much appreciated. I suck at dialog, too, so if you could let me know it it seems in character and seems believable I'd really appreciate it.
> 
> I don't know why it's listing this as part 4. It's part 2...

Rick's dad had gotten a position as a cop and he and Rick moved to Birmingham six months after Rick and Daryl shared their first kiss in the lean-to. There had been many more kisses, but nothing else. By the time Daryl thought he might want more, Rick was gone. When Rick left Daryl would swear that he physically felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. That had been twenty years ago. Daryl had eventually gotten over his first love and when he thought of Rick now it was with fondness. Rick had shown him that he was worth loving and fighting for and Daryl had never forgotten the gentle blue-eyed boy that had stolen his heart. That was why, twenty years later, he was standing in the DMV in shock with his mouth hanging open like an idiot. Rick Grimes was standing in line right in front of him. Daryl would recognize that curly hair and those bow legs anywhere. He reached out with a trembling hand to tap Rick on the shoulder. Rick turned, eyes widening when he saw Daryl.

"Daryl?!" He gasped. "Oh my god. Is it really you?" 

Daryl nodded and signed, _"What are you doing in Senoia, Rick?"_

"I just got hired to the police department. Following in my old man's footsteps, I suppose." He said with a shrug and a grin. Daryl grinned back. "Man, it's good to see you," Rick continued. "You want to go get dinner or a drink or something? We could catch up." 

Daryl frowned, signing, _"I'd like to, but I have to work tonight. I'm off tomorrow though."_

Rick beamed, his eyes lighting up happily. "I'd really like that, Daryl. You still live at the same place?" Daryl nodded. "Great," Rick said. "Pick you up around 7?" 

Daryl nodded again, blushing slightly and giving Rick a small smile. _"Sounds good. I'll see you then."_

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Daryl had thought of nothing else since seeing Rick at the DMV. He'd aged well. His dark curly hair and trimmed beard was interspersed with gray and he had laugh lines at the corner of his eyes. His smile still lit up the room and his eyes...Damn, those eyes. Bright blue like a perfect spring sky, an ocean, bluebells, a glacier. Hell, nothing could describe the blue that was Rick's eyes. They should name a damn crayon after him, Daryl laughed to himself as he turned on the water to have a shower before he left for work. He couldn't believe that Rick was back in town. It had taken him years to get over Rick and he'd never felt the same for anyone else. Sure, he'd had a couple of relationships, but never anything serious. He'd been resentful towards Rick for a long time, too. He'd never heard from him after he left and it had crushed Daryl to lose him. But with the maturity and introspection of growing up, Daryl knew that it wasn't Rick's fault that he'd had to move. They were just children at the mercy of the adults in their lives, after all. Daryl rinsed his hair before soaping up his washcloth, rubbing over his chest and arms as he thought about Rick. He'd been surprised to see that they were now the same height. He couldn't help but think about how good they'd fit together. As he ran the cloth lower over his cock he let out a silent breathy groan as he felt himself begin to harden. He soaped up his hands and dropped the cloth to the shower floor. He began to stroke himself, the vision of Rick from today running through his mind. He came quickly, come splattering on the tiles in front of him while whispering Rick's name. He stood under the warm water for a few more minutes as he came down from his orgasm induced endorphin high. "Shit," he thought to himself. "I'm fucked."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Daryl got to work that evening, wishing he hadn't agreed to work overtime. He worked at his friend, Dale's, mechanic shop and was one of the best mechanics in town. Dale had hired him in spite of the Dixon name that Daryl was cursed with. "I judge people by how they act, not by who they're related to," Dale had told Daryl the day he'd hired him. "You've always been a good kid and I'm happy to have you." Daryl had had to turn away so Dale couldn't see the tears in his eyes. He'd seen very little kindness from others in his life and it was overwhelming. That had been over ten years ago and Daryl and Dale had become very close. Dale was like the dad Daryl had never had. Which, of course, caused him to notice how distracted Daryl was. 

"What's on your mind, Daryl?" Dale asked, as Daryl had his head under the hood of a car. Daryl glanced up, shaking his head and trying to look innocent. It didn't work. "C'mon, Daryl. I know you. I can tell something's up." Daryl sighed, and stood upright. He grabbed the red rag from the back pocket of his coveralls and began wiping his hands. 

_"Is nothing,"_ he signed. _"Just ran into someone I used to know."_

Dale was one of the few people in Daryl's life who'd bothered to learn ASL to better communicate with him. Dale snorted and said, "Bullshit. There's more to it than that."

Daryl could feel his face turning red. He walked over to where Dale was sitting on a lawn chair and plopped down on a stool next to him. _"Fine. It was Rick."_

"Rick? Rick Grimes?!" Dale's eyes widened with surprise. Daryl had told him about Rick, how he'd been his first friend, first kiss, and first love. "Holy shit, boy. Where'd you see him?"

Daryl told Dale about the encounter with Rick and how they were supposed to meet the next night for dinner. He chewed on the corner of his thumb before signing, _"I'm really nervous. What if I fuck it up? What if he doesn't like me? What if I've changed too much? What if he's changed too much? What if I'm not good enough? What if..."_ Dale cut him off with a sharp, "Stop it!" Daryl's hands froze in mid-air, the look of surprise on his face almost comical. "Of course you've changed, you guys haven't seen each other for twenty years! But don't you dare think you're not good enough. Hell, he'll be lucky if **he's** good enough for you. Just go to dinner and be yourself. That was good enough last time and it'll be good enough this time." 

Daryl thought for a minute and then gave a nod of thanks to Dale. He went back to working on the car, feeling a bit better from talking to his friend. "I just hope he's right," he thought.


	2. He's a fucking cop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out.  
> Let me know if you think the dialog flows okay...I really really suck at dialog and could use some pointers.

Daryl barely slept that night, worrying about his date with Rick the next evening. Was it a date? Could Rick even still be interested in him after twenty years? Daryl tossed and turned, finally giving up around 5am and deciding to get up for the day. After taking a piss he padded quietly to the kitchen, his bare feet barely making a sound as he crossed the cool wood floor. He could hear Merle snoring through the closed door of his bedroom. He made some coffee and carried it out to the front porch to drink with his morning cigarette. It was still dark out and the late May temperature was pleasantly cool. He sat on one of the two beat-up lawn chairs that sat on the porch and propped his feet up on the railing. He flipped open his Zippo and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply before letting the smoke flow back out of his mouth. He heard Merle's door open and could hear him make his way to the bathroom and into the kitchen. He then came outside with a mug of coffee and snagged one of Daryl's smokes as he sat down in the other lawn chair. Daryl glared at him as he lit the cigarette.

"Hey, if you're gonna wake me up at the ass crack of dawn the least ya can do is spare me a smoke!" Merle grinned at Daryl. Daryl grinned back, flipping him off. "Why ya up so early anyway, Darylina? Ya don't work till eight, do ya?"

Daryl shrugged. _"Got shit on my mind, is all,"_ he signed.

"Yeah? What's up?" Merle asked as he flicked ashes over the side of the porch railing.

_"Rick's back."_

"The fuck?! Seriously? Want me to kick his ass for ya?" Merle asked, only partially joking.

 _"Shut up."_ Daryl signed, flicking his cigarette butt at Merle's head. Merle dodged it and laughed. "What's he doing here?" He asked Daryl.

 _"Moved back. Got a job."_ Daryl answered.

"Doin' what?"

_"Cop,"_ Daryl made the 'C' sign above his heart, waiting for Merle to lose his shit. It didn't take long. 

"What the fuck?! He's a fucking cop? Jesus-fucking-christ Darylina. You ain't gonna bring him around here, are ya?" 

_"Shut the fuck up, Merle,"_ Reverting back to the sign-name he'd given Merle when they were kids. It was the sign for "asshole" but made with an "M" instead of an "A". _"We're actually going out for dinner tonight. He's picking me up at seven."_

"Fuck me," Merle sighed. "Ain't havin' him break your heart once enough for ya, little bro?" 

Daryl glared at his brother. _"It's been twenty fucking years, Merle. It's not like it's a date, anyway. Just two old friends catching up is all."_

"Yeah, whatever ya say, bro. Whatever ya say." Merle said with a wry grin. 

Daryl stood up. _"I gotta get ready for work."_ He said, walking back into the house, leaving his brother shaking his head. 

_______________________________________________________ 

Rick's new partner, Shane, was a self-absorbed guy, but even he noticed how figety Rick was during their shift. "What's up with you today, man? You're acting like you've either come down with ADHD or have ants in your fucking pants!" He asked, as they were sitting behind the Dairy Queen eating their lunch. 

Rick huffed out a laugh. "You can't catch ADHD, moron." 

Rick and Shane had been working together for a little over a month, and even though Shane was a cocky son-of-a-bitch, Rick liked him. They had and easy comraderie and had developed a friendship over the long hours during their shifts. Rick remembered him from high school, but hadn't known him well before he'd moved. 

"Just going out tonight with someone I used to know." Rick said. "I guess I'm kinda nervous." 

"No shit?!" Shane crowed. He'd been trying to set Rick up with various women since he and Rick had started working together. Rick hadn't told him that he was gay, and luckily it hadn't really come up because Shane was almost always so focused on his own dick that he didn't have time to worry about what Rick was doing with his. Rick had been deflecting his offers of phone numbers and double dates with the excuse of having just moved to town and trying to get his shit together. He'd been dreading this conversation, though. Not because he'd had any indication that Shane was homophobic, but because he was wary to tell anyone, living in the deep south and all. 

"What's her name?" Shane asked, shoving fries into his mouth as he talked. 

"Daryl." Rick said. 

Shane choked on a fry. "What?" He said slowly, looking over at Rick, who was looking back with a smirk. 

"His name is Daryl." Rick answered. 

"Aw, hell! This explains so much!" Shane said loudly, grinning at Rick. "Fuck, you're gay!" 

Rick nodded. "Is that going to be a problem?" He asked. 

"Not with me, brother," Shane said. He then got serious. "But...you know it's probably not something that should get out around the station, right?" 

Rick nodded. "Remember, I spent 15 years as a cop in Atlanta. Only two people in the department knew I was gay, and one of them I was fucking." Shane spewed his drink all over the dash, as Rick laughed. "I'm not ashamed of who I am, but I'm also not stupid." 

Shane smiled as he sopped up the drink he'd spit with a napkin from the bag. "That's good. You know your secret's safe with me, right? I got your back." 

Rick felt his heart swell with gratitude and clapped Shane on the shoulder. "Thanks, man. I appreciate that." 

"Yeah," Shane said, "Just don't fill me in on the details tomorrow. Ya know...if you guys do the nasty. Roll in the hay. Hump. Screw. Fornicate. Get some nooky. Bump uglies..." 

Rick hit him in the side as they were both laughing. "Shut the fuck up, asshole!" 


End file.
